MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Thousands of South Carolinians spent Saturday along the state’s beaches and rivers, but they weren’t there to enjoy the sand and surf.
Instead, volunteers participated in South Carolina’s largest, one-day volunteer waterway clean up event, the annual beach and river sweep.
Clean up efforts were statewide, from North Myrtle Beach to Charleston and beyond. The beach and river sweep is hosted by S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The event has occurred every third Saturday in September since 1988.
In Myrtle Beach, different groups picked up trash from 8th Ave. North to 2nd Ave. North. Each had their own reasons for volunteering on Saturday.
“(Trash) hurts the wildlife and it makes the area seem uglier, so we pick it up, we stop hurting wildlife and the area seems better,” Ryan Bal who was volunteering with his robotics team said.
“The beach is a part of God’s creation and it’s important to clean it up and be cognizant of what is around us and to be good stewards of the environment,” Meredith Dark, an associate minister with the First United Methodist Church in Myrtle Beach said.
Dark hopes others will participate in the annual event in the years to come.
“I hope that it inspires the community to do things like this as well, to get involved in their own backyard and to help clean up and do some sort of outreach of some kind, even if it’s not clean up,” Dark said.
To become a volunteer for next year’s beach and river sweep, or to learn more, click here.
